In a continuing effort to improve the quality of fresh market and shipping fruits, we, the inventors, typically hybridize a large number of nectarine and peach seedlings each year. The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of nectarine tree, which has been denominated varietally as "Fire Pearl". The present variety was developed by us in 1991 in a cultivated area of our experimental orchard at Bradford Farms near Le Grand, Calif. in Merced County (San Joaquin Valley). It was a first generation cross using Red Glen (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,193) yellow flesh nectarine as the seed parent and an unnamed white flesh nectarine seedling as the selected pollen parent. This unnamed pollen parent was previously developed by crossing August Red (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,363) nectarine by Bradcrim (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,461) nectarine. Subsequent to origination of the present variety of nectarine tree, we asexually reproduced it by budding and grafting, and such reproduction of plant and fruit characteristics were true to the original plant in all respects.
The fruit produced by the present variety is most similar to its pollen grandparent, the Bradcrim (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,461), by producing white flesh nectarines that are non-acidic in flavor and virtually free from red texture bleeding, but is distinguished therefrom and an improvement thereon by producing fruit that ripens thirty days later, that is much firmer in texture, that is much sweeter in flavor, and that is clingstone instead of freestone.
The present variety is similar to both its seed parent, Red Glen (U.S. Pat. No. 7,193) and its pollen grandparent, August Red (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,363), by producing nectarines that are large sized, clingstone, very firm, and nearly full red in skin color, but is very distinguished from both by producing fruit that is white flesh instead of yellow flesh, and that is non-acidic in flavor instead of acidic.